California’s “Hillsborough Heiress” was found not guilty of arranging the murder of the father of her two children.
Tiffany Li, 34, the daughter of a rich, real estate family in China, had been accused of having her then-boyfriend shoot her ex, Keith Green, out of fear that she would lose custody of the children.
A San Mateo County jury deliberated 12 days before their verdict was read Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“We are disappointed with the verdicts, since obviously we believe the evidence supported holding Ms. Li accountable for the crimes,” said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, the outlet reported. “But we respect the jury system and the effort to analyze this case by these 12 jurors.”
A hung jury was declared in the case of her accused killer boyfriend, Kaveh Bayat.
Green disappeared in April 2016 after meeting Li at a Pancake House in Millbrae. A month later, his body was discovered in a field in Sonoma County. He had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Bryan Abanto had pointed to text messages he argued showed the couple distancing themselves from Green’s whereabouts. Bayat played along, the prosecutor argued, for fear that Li would otherwise get back together with Green, ABC News reported.
Defense attorney Geoff Carr countered that the case against Li was solely circumstantial. A third suspect, Olivier Adella — who is charged with dumping the body — is the real culprit, Carr contended.
Li had been free on $35 million bail she raised through wealthy friends, family members and business associates.